On a collision course?

When Congress, US consumer groups and general media get on their soapboxes to complain about airlines, here is where they should really focus their efforts: investing properly in FAA and the US ATM system to avoid a mid-air collision.

Take a look at this article posted by my colleague Aaron Karp. In summary, the US National Transportation Safety Board has flagged that there were four instances last year in which two aircraft came within “hazardous proximity” of one another near a major US airport.

The dangerous occurrences, all happening during go-arounds, have led NTSB to push FAA in a formal letter to “modify air traffic control procedures so that an airplane that executes a go-around, instead of landing as expected, will not be put on a potential collision course with another airplane either in the process of landing or departing.”

If no action is taken and an accident does occur, you can bet Congress will be at the forefront of urgent calls for investigations and blame-laying. But this will be the same set of lawmakers who pulled urgently-needed funding for FAA and US ATM modernization and who were happy to cripple air traffic controller operations when it suited their own political and partisan purposes under the false guise of budget reform.

Instead of interfering with how airlines run their businesses, or bleating about ancillary fees and passenger rights, Congress needs to take a good hard look at NTSB’s recommendations. It should recognize that airlines do an exceptional job of their number one priority - getting people safely to their destinations - and step up to its own responsibilities of FAA investment and oversight to ensure that stellar record is maintained.